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“We promised to talk more.” Izuku says, drumming his fingers on his lap as he gets squished by the massive airbag in the backseat, “She gets it– gets me. She understands.”
Kacchan is oddly subdued when he responds, “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
It’s quiet in the car again, engine humming beneath their feet.
“Why’d you…” Kacchan begins once they stop at a red light, eyes simply looking straight ahead, posture rigid, “Nevermind.”
“What is it?”
“You gonna start your own agency or something?”
Izuku shrugs, “I’ll probably do it independently, if anything. I don’t wanna take a slot away from someone who deserves it more than me, you know? I’ve been missing in action for over half a decade. I'm… rusty.”
Izuku watches as Kacchan’s eyebrows furrow in the rear-view mirror, glancing at him in confusion, “What?”
“If I’m gonna join your– any agency, I’m gonna have to earn it. And besides– Kota-kun would be a better fit as of right now I think. I see how hard he tries to beat you every time you lead a training exercise and I know you do too.”
“Are you a fucking idiot?” Kacchan pulls over right by a convenience store and whips his head around to look at Izuku, “Are you seriously fucking stupid?”
“Eh?!” Izuku struggles to lean towards him from the stupid massive airbag, “Kacchan what the hell are you talking about?”
“I thought you just didn’t wanna work with me!”
Izuku blinks at him incredulously and lifts the case holding his hero suit up, “Of course I wanna work with you! But I have to do it on an even playing field. How the hell am I supposed to beat you if you give me a leg up?”
“That’s–” Kacchan grabs a fistful of Izuku’s hair and tugs on it harshly, earning an undignified squawk, “Your logic drives me fucking crazy. Who do you think you are to decide if you’re good enough for my agency? It’s my fucking agency, Izuku.”
“I just wanna play fair!” He grumbles, rubbing at his scalp, “Uraraka-san thought it was a good idea.”
The fond exasperation on Kacchan’s face melts into a somber one, “Yeah?”
“You know how she is about playing fair,” Izuku’s body jolts forward as the car starts back up, and he quickly puts his seatbelt back on, “I’ll beat you and it’ll be on my own terms.”
Kacchan huffs, “You can try.”
“I’ll definitely have a hard time trying to outdo your public relations skills. I mean you truly are just a sight to behold.”
“I’ll crash the fucking car, Izuku.”
“I’ll be safe with these airbags.”
“You need to shut the fuck up sometimes.”
“Shoto-kun thinks I’m funny.”
“He thinks everyone is funny, he never really had a good metric for humor growing up, did he?”
“Mean, Kacchan!”
“No it’s not.”
“I’m serious, Kota-kun has been bugging me about beating your ass. If you don’t elect him as an intern, I’ll beat your ass.”
“Again, you can try.” Kacchan scoffs, “I’ll see how he does in the sports festival. I don’t want some cocky kid who can’t back it up.”
“He’ll do well.”
“Hm.”
“Kacchan.”
“What?”
“Thanks for driving me home.”
“S’fine.”
“I’m glad…” Izuku stares out the window, “I’m glad I get to be a hero with you guys again.”
“I know.”
✧
“Deku-kun!” Uraraka-san waves him over to a small circular table with two coffees and a cupcake on top of it, “Get over here!”
“Uraraka-san!” He smiles, pulling a chair out from under the table and taking a seat, “You wanted to talk today?”
“So, you know about the quirk counselling program I’ve got going on, right?” She pulls out a couple of papers from her handbag and hands it to him, “You were complaining about guest speakers for your morals and ethics class last week and I was wondering if I could come?”
Izuku blinks down at the papers once. He scans through them quickly.
He blinks twice.
“Of course! Are you kidding?” He laughs, “I wouldn’t wanna be a bother, though…”
Her pleasant smile turns wistful as she looks down at her red velvet cupcake, “It’s never a bother to help. A lot of kids could have used something like this back in the day. And as shameful as it is to admit, so could a lot of aspiring heroes.”
Izuku thinks back to the burning sting of decay, strangled cries from a little kid that never really did get control of his own destiny, “You’re right,” A brief pause, “Did you know Shigaraki’s name is actually Tenko?”
Uraraka-san shakes her head a little and closes her eyes, “Did you know– I read studies about quirk suppression,” She smiles melancholically, “When you push down the natural desires your quirk instills in you– your instincts , you become much more likely to use it in a destructive way.”
“So it’s like that, then.”
She nods, “Tenko, huh?”
Izuku glances out of the cafe windows and spots a glimpse of silvery white hair, red shoes, “Tenko.”
“I wish…” Uraraka-san shakes her head a little, “We owe them our grief and our regret but we also owe them the better future they died for. So, don’t ever let it hold you back. Especially not from saving people.”
“You too, Uraraka-san.”
She bows her head, “I’m glad I get to talk to you about this kinda stuff.”
He leans back on his chair, “Grieving villains…what a pair we make.”
“If nobody else will…” She takes a sip of her coffee.
“You’re moving on, huh?” He asks blandly, a flash of black clothing disappearing behind a car, “She’s not haunting you anymore?”
“Is he haunting you?”
A chest cavity spurting blood, dust, nothing but dust and blue skies, lifeless crimson, “Yeah.” He sighs, “Yeah, they are.”
“I think I’ve moved on a good amount,” She hums, “But I’ll always let her haunt me a little. It doesn’t always have to be a bad thing, it could be a goal, a reminder,” She pokes his forehead, “To never let anything like that happen to anyone again.”
He nods, “You’re right,”
“Of course, I am.”
A beat of silence.
“So…” She draws out the vowel, “Rumor has it you rejected–”
Izuku’s face burns red, “It’s not like that!”
Uraraka-san tilts her head, smiling teasingly, “No?”
“I didn’t want an advantage,” He crosses his arms, “I’m beating Kacchan on my own merit.”
“I know.”
“Then–”
“It’s cute,” She finally takes a bite out of her cupcake, “Don’t let it pass you by. He’s… y’know.”
“I– I won’t.”
“You are.”
“I think I’m scared to be a hero again.” He mumbles, “I never… I don’t want a repeat of what happened with–”
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“It’s hard to get over.”
“It’ll be easier with him there.”
“I might be late again.”
“He’s good at waiting.”
Izuku shakes his head, “I don’t–”
“You’ll regret it more,” She says sternly, “It’ll be much too late and you’ll regret it more.”
Izuku smiles at her sadly, “You’re good at giving advice, Uraraka-san.”
“Takes one to know one, doesn’t it?” She puts the cupcake down, “I think… it won’t ever be the same, but–”
“Ura–”
“I found someone.” She says briskly, “And I’m scared I’m making her compete with a dead girl.”
“Are you?”
“I don’t know.” She grimaces, “I don’t think so.”
“Well,” He kicks her foot gently from under the table, “You’ll be okay.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” He shrugs, “And even if you aren’t– you have people in your corner.”
“You do, too.”
“I know.”
✧
Kacchan frowns at him as he barges into the blond’s apartment, “How was it?”
“How was what?”
“The date.”
“Date?”
“With round chee–” He smacks the back of Izuku’s head, “You didn’t forget, did you?!”
Izuku stares at him with wide eyes, bewildered, “Forget what, Kacchan?” “
“The fucking date with round cheeks I helped you get last night!”
“What the–” Izuku laughs half-hysterically, “That wasn’t a date!
Kacchan blinks, “Yes, it was.”
“Uh, no,” Izuku rubs the spot Kacchan hit, “I think the girl she’s seeing would be pretty upset to learn she was on a date. With a guy .”
“The girl…”
“Kacchan , do you think I’m a homewrecker?” Izuku asks, aghast.
Kacchan snaps at him, “ Hell , no!”
“Then why–”
“Cause you ran off all blushy last night!”
“That would be the alcohol.” He punches Kacchan’s shoulder, “And it was cold and I just do that when I’m around girls.”
“You said you promised to talk more.”
“That would be because we could relate to each other about– the stuff with Shig– Tenko and Toga-san!” He waves his hands exasperatedly, “Because she understands, remember?”
Kacchan blinks, “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“So, she–”
“Uhuh.”
“And you’re not–”
“We’re friends!”
“Oh.”
“You’re so stupid.”
“Oi! Don’t call me that.”
“Only if you don’t act stupid.”
“Seriously.”
Izuku shakes his head and laughs, “When are you next free?”
“Tomorrow,” Kacchan narrows his eyes skeptically at him, “Why?”
“The new movie,” Izuku grins, “I wanna watch it with you.”
“What movie?”
“Uh, they remade All Might: Origins Of A Symbol, and I heard it’s like– horrendously bad,” He says, scrolling through his phone, “I wanted to make fun of it with you.”
“Sounds good.” Katsuki nods, “I’m driving.”
Izuku blinks, “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Ah, fine.”
“You’re not gonna subject your students to that shitty movie after, are you?”
Izuku shrugs, “Only if they behave.”
“Cruel.”
“You think it’s hilarious.”
“ That’s why I think it’s hilarious.”
“Oh!” Izuku turns and grabs Kacchan by both shoulders, “I almost forgot to ask you– Eri-chan has that concert for her school festival and she sent me two tickets and told me to give you the other one.”
Kacchan frowns, “Why didn’t she just text me too?”
Izuku glances off to the side, “I actually don’t know, but– are you coming or what?”
“Well, duh.” Kacchan rolls his eyes, “Eyebags would have my head if I didn’t.”
“Good, it’s a date.”
Kacchan’s eyes suddenly widen and they stare at each other for a few seconds– minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? Years?
“What’s wrong, Kacchan?”
Crimson eyes bore into him for a little longer before– “I’m good.”
“Okay.”
✧
“Sensei!” One of his students, Kuromi raises her hand, “Dynamight’s knocking on our window again!”
“He’s–” Izuku whips his head around to look at the window and runs over to unlock it, “Kacchan, you aren’t supposed to be here until half an hour!”
“I like being punctual,” He turns to the class, “Ready to get your asses beat in half an hour?”
“Kacchan, Language.”
“I’m gonna drown your bitchass!”
“Kota-kun, language.”
“Not if I blow you up first, you little twerp!”
“Try it!”
“Oh, you bet I–”
Izuku coughs.
Silence.
“Okay,” He points to a desk in the back of the classroom, “Kacchan, you sit over there. Now, let me continue– The properties of your quirk will change as you age and grow— now, you all know emotions affect quirk awakenings but did you know that they also affect long term development? Take Ka– Dynamight for example–”
“Either say my full hero name or keep it out of your mouth.”
Izuku sends him a sharp glare, “Take Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, for example. He…”
Izuku rambles on and on about advanced quirk theory until he gets cut off by the bell ringing, “Okay, everyone! Go get dressed and meet me at ground Beta.”
Katsuki strolls casually from the back of the classroom to Izuku’s desk, “So, sensei–”
“If he ask me out on a date in the middle of the school day I’ll fucking kill him,” Izuku mutters absentmindedly.
“...What?”
Izuku blinks up at him, “What’s wrong?”
“I wasn’t gonna ask you out on a date.”
Izuku frowns, “Who said you were?”
“You did.”
“No, I…” His eyes widen almost comically, “Oh, I said that out loud?”
“Yeah.”
“Um.”
“So, I really can’t ask you out right now?”
“I mean, if you’re gonna…”
“I think I’ll make you wait. You did say you’d kill me”
“Kacchan!”
“Ground beta, right?”
“Ye– hey,
wait!”